Auto Accident: $2 Million Verdict

An eight-person jury for Wayne County Circuit Court leveled a $2 million verdict against the defendant driver and defendant bowling center in this case.

This tragic drunk driving and third-party liability case was based on the Liquor Liability Law, and fought on behalf of parents that wrongfully lost their daughter who was only 17 years old. The drunk driving accident that caused the plaintiff's untimely death was attributed to the intoxication of the defendant driver and the negligent manner in which the defendant bowling center's staff dispensed alcohol to him.

On November 16, 1995, at 10:55 p.m., plaintiff and her sister, then nine years old, were on their way to Meijer when they were hit by the defendant driver in a head-on collision after he crossed the centerline while highly intoxicated.

Both girls were taken to the hospital. The plaintiff's sister was discharged shortly after the incident; the plaintiff died two days later. The defendant driver's blood alcohol level, which was taken by police, registered between .17 and .23, exceeding the legal limit of .10.

"This heartbreaking case is an example of what happens when proprietors of bars and restaurants neglect the responsibility they have been given by the State of Michigan to wisely dispense alcohol to their customers," said Lee Turner, attorney at Turner and Turner, P.C. for the plaintiff. "We pray this case sends a strong message to those who think it is OK to drive drunk and those who would serve them and let them leave their premises while intoxicated. After all, friends don't let friends drive drunk."